Suspended sentence after Burton pool hall disorder

A SNOOKER hall manager who was hit over the arm after football fans started smashing cues and throwing balls has spoken out after one was sentenced.

Rotherham football fans were turfed out of the Pirelli Stadium during a match, gatecrashed Rileys, in High Street, Burton, and began smashing cues and throwing balls around.

Manger, Rachel Gaunt, who was a supervisor at Rileys at the time, said: “It started when they came through the door ranting and raving. They were throwing balls and cues about. I got hit over the arm trying to get them out. I just wanted them to leave and they eventually did.

“The whole thing seem to last ages but only lasted a few minutes.

“We had a few pool cues broken and a stool was thrown across the room.”

Around 20 Rotherham supporters started shouting abuse at a group of Asian males already in there, but words turned to violence when some of the fans began breaking cues, throwing chairs around and hurling snooker balls towards the Asians.

One troublemaker was Michael Gott, one of those ejected from Albion’s ground on February 9, last year.

Paul Spratt, prosecuting, said: “The defendant accepts he was part of the group although we can’t say whether he was throwing items.

“A significant amount of damage was caused and a window broken.”

33-year-old Gott, who admitted a charge of affray, was given a three month prison sentence suspended for a year, ordered to do 100 hours unpaid community work and to pay £500 costs, £80 compensation and a £80 victim surcharge.

Judge Mark Eades told him: “You are a mature man...but given the background and the racial element, this case warrants a custodial sentence.”

James Gould, defending, said: “He was part of a group which behaved in a disgraceful way - he got caught up with it.”

Gott, of Bawtry Road, Brinsworth, a Rotherham fan since a boy, worked as a roofer, but his security clearance card had been taken off him when he was arrested.